1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to applying a medication to healthy, damaged, diseased, or infected living tissue and coating the medication with a bioadhesive as a method of maintaining the medication and protecting tissue during a healing and medicating process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that many types of medication may be applied to healthy, damaged, diseased, or infected living tissue to assist a healing process, prevent additional harm and infection, and relieve pain or suffering. This has been accomplished by a variety of methods. Depending upon the physiological problem and the type of medication, medication may be injected into the blood stream, taken orally, transferred into the body through healthy tissue or applied directly to the damaged, diseased or infected tissue. In clinical practice there are problems when applying medication directly to healthy, damaged, infected or diseased tissue.
After applying the medication to the tissue area, there is a medical need to maintain the presence of the medication during the healing process, to prevent foreign matter from entering or affecting the tissue, and to protect the injured area from mechanical interference. Presently this need is accomplished by a number of methods such as bandages, physical restraints, and continual maintenance by cleaning, medication administration and re-bandaging. All these devices and techniques may cause discomfort, expense, time, and may result in inefficient healing.
There is also a medical need to apply and maintain medication on healthy tissue for absorption into the body. This type of application involves using a medical device for transdermal delivery (U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,502) or fabric backed dressings that also need maintenance and replacement.
Bioadhesives have been used in surgical methods, dental methods, tissue bonding and applying bandages. U.S. Pat. No. 3,223,083 was an early disclosure of a method for securing bones and skin using bioadhesives. The bioadhesives have also been used to bond bandages, sutures, (U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,132) porous materials (U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,240) or flexible materials (U.S. Pat. No. 4,900,303) to tissues for medical purposes. These bioadhesive techniques involve adhesion of healthy tissue to cellular, plastic, porous, or fabric materials that protect, dispense medication, or sutures closing damaged or diseased tissue. However, the use of these bioadhesives employing auxiliary devices may interfere with the healing process and make clinical processes more difficult.
In actual clinical situations the above techniques and methods may be complex or simply ineffective. Such clinical situations may relate to areas of the body where reliable, simple, predictable, effective retention of medication is extremely difficult or impossible, i.e. wet tissues, limited access, restricted visibility and lighting, mechanical interference (occlusion of teeth -orally, areas of excessive mobility, etc.)
In oral applications, liquids and mechanical interference by tongue, teeth, and cheeks retard the healing process. Saliva may dilute or wash away the medication. Currently, a dental paste mixed with hydrocortisone, called Orabase.RTM. by Colgate-Hoyt/Gel-Kam requires application after each meal. A similar dental paste, Kenalog.RTM. by Westwood Squibb, needs re-application every 12 hours.
There are many other anatomical regions where internal or external fluids may interfere with the application and retention of medication on injured tissue.
The present invention has solved the problems described above that are common in medical and dental practice.